Sir Alex Ferguson has been told to unleash Manchester United midfielder Anderson and let the Brazilian live up to his early promise as “the best player in the world”.

Grasping for positives to take from Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final failure, the United manager can at least point to the performance of his midfielder when bringing him on as a second-half substitute.

The £19m signing from Porto looked as likely as anyone in United’s team to force the game into extra time, injecting energy and pace into a midfield that had been overrun by the power of City’s Nigel de Jong, Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry.

With Paul Scholes suspended for three matches, following his reckless challenge on Pablo Zabaleta, the stage is set for Anderson, who is back from cartilage damage suffered in the FA Cup clash with Crawley Town in February.

The 23-year-old, who signed a new five-year-deal at Old Trafford in December, has often flattered to deceive since arriving in 2007.

Impressive displays in his first season have been followed by prolonged injury lay-offs and inconsistency.

Ferguson has long-trumpeted him as a player to follow in the formidable footsteps of Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes as a mainstay of his midfield.

But Fergie has been urged that he must allow a player – once compared with Ronaldinho in his homeland – to play in his natural position as an attacking midfielder, if he is truly to see the best of him at United.

Brazil’s 1970 World Cup legend Carlos Alberto says the Reds boss must take the shackles off Anderson.

Freedom

“Anderson is a very good player, but I knew him when he played in Brazil and, in my opinion, he is playing in a different way to the way he played back there,” said Alberto.

“He is not playing in his real position.

“In Brazil, we would like to see him play with freedom on the field because he creates chances and he scores.

“This is the Anderson that we know in Brazil but here he seems to play more defensively. The coach knows best but that is my opinion.”

Ferguson moved quickly to sign Anderson four years ago despite the player having only just recovered from a career-threatening leg break.

“The reports we were getting were saying that he was the best young player in the world,” he said at the time. “I was saying, ‘For God’s sake, let’s calm down a bit here.’ I knew he had real potential, but I didn’t want to put labels on him like that.”

Anderson was a product of the same youth system at Gremio that created former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, leading to obvious comparisons. His performances for Porto, playing in an attacking role on the left or through the centre, convinced Ferguson to move at a time when Barcelona were also monitoring his progress.

But Anderson has largely been utilised as a holding midfielder at United, with mixed results.

Dominant displays against Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas in his first season led to high hopes that he could be a successor to Keane – but he has failed to replicate that form on a regular basis since.

He is far from being grouped in the category of another Brazilian, who failed to adapt to life at Old Trafford, Kleberson, but with Fergie hoping to rebuild his midfield as Scholes and Ryan Giggs near the end of their careers, Anderson is expected to live up to his price tag and early reputation.

Skilled

Alberto is convinced he can do that – if United play to his strengths.

“In Brazil, we compared him to Ronaldinho because he is a very skilled player,” he said. “But over here, he seems to be playing more defensively and this is not the best way for him to play.

“I hope they change their ideas and give him a free role. Then he can start to show just how good he is.

“He has shown at times how good he can be but if Sir Alex gives him freedom to play, he is going to show that he can be one of the best players in the world.

“Any good Brazilian player can play here or in any other country. They only need to have some time because when they come over here they change their style and the tactics.

“If they are given a chance to get used to it they will prove that they are good players.

“The example is Anderson. He came from Brazil and they changed his position. It takes time but they can prove that they can play here.”